“And Yaakov saw the face of Lavan, and behold, he was not with him as yesterday or

the
day before.”
Just by looking at Lavan’s face, Yaakov was able to tell what Lavan was feeling. L
avan did not say anything negative or harsh to Yaakov, but by seeing his facial
expression Yaakov intuitively knew that Lavan did not feel the same way towards
him as he had in the past.
We can learn from here how important is to look at a person’s face to tell whether
he is upset or happy, and how one’s facial expressions can affect those around yo
u. Sometimes we can see that something is bothering someone by their facial expr
ession, yet when asked if anything is wrong the person responds, “Everything is ok
ay”. We react to that by ignoring our instincts and erase our worry over them. Aft
er all, they said everything was okay.
Yaakov taught us to be more vigilant in our awareness of others feelings. Someti
mes a person’s face reveals much more to us than their words. When speaking to som
eone always be aware of their facial expression to see if you have hurt or insul
ted them by what you have said. By looking at their expressions, we learn to be
more sensitive to their feelings and needs.
As important as it is to read other people’s expressions, we must also consider ho
w we appear to others and how our own facial expressions can affect others. The
Bluzhever Rebbe, when asked how he can keep smiling in the face of all the trage
dies that had befallen him during the holocaust answered, my face is “Reshut HaRab
bim,” the public domain. The Rebbe realized that his expression of happiness or sa
dness was reflected on others and impacted how they felt. The Rebbe, although in
tremendous tzaar over his own losses , realized the chizuk he could give to oth
ers with just a smile.
In Pirkei Avot it says “Greet each person with a happy face.” May we be sensitive to
others needs by not only reading their expressions but by controlling our own t
o bring Simcha to those around us.